


Team

by Little_Lost_Penny



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Recreational Drug Use, Teenagers, drug dealer Vegeta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22229551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Lost_Penny/pseuds/Little_Lost_Penny
Summary: It's the most ridiculous and unexpected thing, that happens on the most ridiculous and unexpected night. Or how Bulma ends up having one hell of an adventure with the person she last expected.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language and I apologize in advance for all the horrible spelling mistakes you might have to endure.

_Look at me  
you think that I'm tryin' to fight ya  
but I'll always be on your side, yeah ___

__

__It's the most ridiculous and unexpected thing, that happens on the most ridiculous and unexpected night._ _

__Bulma is seventeen and hasn't been to a party in years. Well, she has been to parties, but none of them like this one, and a single, swift look around it’s all it takes for her to be totally aware of why. She can dance around in fancy galas, representing her father's company, make small talk with important people who are way too old to take a seventeen-year-old seriously, and wear couture dresses that most people her age see only on Instagram. She can do all that without blinking and succeed at causing the best possible impression, but she knows she’s wildly unprepared to do this._ _

__She can't do this because this party is loud, the alcohol is cheap, and these people are her classmates. The same classmates she’s had since kindergarten and that have hated her since for two very understandable reasons: she's too smart for her own good and too full of herself._ _

__Why is she here, then?_ _

__Because her best friend, against all odds, is now the boyfriend of the most popular girl in school -not so surprising given that said best friend is, apparently, also friends with every single one of the at least fifty persons in the room. And Bulma? well, she's invited by association._ _

__But she can't do this._ _

__She can feel them looking at her, eyeing her expensive shoes, her makeup, her hair. Talking about her in whispers when they think she can't hear them. Talking about how she thinks she’s too good for them, how she’s not all that, how she’s just another stupid rich girl. She can feel herself shrinking, her gaze lowering, her stance becoming insecure and fearful. She thinks that’s why she does it, maybe; because she’s feeling lonely and small and she doesn’t like it at all._ _

__One moment she’s thinking about how to disappear without Goku noticing, and the next she’s watching a figure make its way through the crowd of dancing bodies. He’s walking towards her as if he owned the world –and in some weird, twisted way, she thinks he does. She knows him, because everyone does, but they have never talked before, and she’s pretty sure he has never as much as looked her way, so when he comes to a stop right in front of her, a mischievous glint lighting up his dark, dark eyes, she doesn’t know what to do._ _

__“You seem off, Briefs.” He says._ _

__“I don’t know if I like the fact that you know who I am.” She deadpans, because she’s feeling insecure and he looks too at ease.  
Maybe that’s why she does it._ _

__He smirks and extends the palm of his hand towards her, not looking away. His hand is big and tan and laying there is a small, pink pill._ _

__“You need to relax.”_ _

__She knows she’s always been short-tempered but the anger that electrifies every fibre of her body is so sudden that even she, who finds it all too familiar, doesn’t know how to react to it._ _

__“You have to be kidding me.”_ _

__He just stares at her, all sharp jaw and strong arms and that stupid, stupid, soft looking black hair._ _

__“I don’t know who you think I am but there’s no way I’m getting into your fucked-up game.”_ _

__He smirks again, a little maniacal. She doesn’t know if the shiver that runs down her spine is fear or something else entirely._ _

__“You don’t dare, eh?” He says, matter-of-factly._ _

__That is definitely why she does it._ _

__“Watch me.”_ _

__She takes the pill from his hand and swallows with a big gulp of her fruity drink, never taking her eyes off his._ _

__She’s a genius; everyone knows that, her IQ is through the roof, and she has a mind built like an all-knowing robot. She’s a practical and analytical person, she thinks about all the possible outcomes, all the best tactics, makes sure she has everything mapped out and under control before she makes any kind of decision. But when it comes to allowing her pride to make decisions for her? Well, that’s the one thing she can’t control._ _

__And those decisions usually turn up being awfully bad._ _

__“I’m watching.” He whispers, voice soft and rough and deep._ _

__He throws her one last smirk before turning around and walking away, leaving her to throw daggers at his retreating back. Is not until he’s out of sight, lost between the mass of moving bodies, that the realization of what she has done hits her, and she almost chokes._ _

__“B, are you ok?”_ _

__Bulma turns to look at Goku, who approaches with Chichi, the girlfriend, in tow._ _

__“I’m fine.” Bulma croaks, finishing her drink in one gulp, as if somehow the alcohol could dissolve whatever she just threw into her system._ _

__“You look pale.” Goku points out, sounding so concerned it almost makes her feel bad._ _

__“I um, you know I…” She’s knows she must look something between ridiculous and desperate, but her throat is tightening and breathing becomes harder the more she thinks about what she’s done “I think I might just have… taken something.”_ _

__Chichi arches a delicate, questioning eyebrow and takes a step towards her. If Bulma didn’t know she hated her, she’d say she looks almost concerned._ _

__“What do you mean you took something?” She asks._ _

__“Do you know the dealer?” Bulma asks suddenly, because she can’t breathe, and she needs to do something to distract herself before she starts hyperventilating. She realizes she’s paid so little attention to him before that she doesn’t even know his name. That though alone is enough to give her a moment to try and calm her breathing. Then she realizes that she just took a pill offered by a guy whose name she doesn’t even know and starts panicking again._ _

__“Vegeta?” Goku asks, because, of course, he’s friend even with the school’s resident drug dealer. “He’s cool. A little gruff, maybe.”_ _

__Chichi snorts._ _

__“You know Goku would find even Hitler to be friend material.” she says “Vegeta is an asshole. You should stay away from him.” she laughs slightly “Not that someone like you would go near someone like him willingly.” she adds._ _

__“What does that mean, someone like me?” She asks, suddenly angry. She can see an insult hidden in there but is not clear headed enough to catch onto it._ _

__“You know. You’re…”_ _

__“Okay.” Goku says suddenly, effectively cutting her off “Maybe he was just messing with you and gave you candy or whatever.”_ _

__Bulma nods, choosing to focus on her breathing instead of in the fact that her best friend is an idiot and is dating a harpy. And she just took a pill of who knows what, given to her by someone she doesn’t know. God. For someone as smart as she is, she can sure be incredibly stupid sometimes._ _

__“So, he just, like, walked up to you and offered a pill?” Chichi asks, eyebrow arched, and lips pursed, and Bulma can practically feel the way she’s judging her._ _

__“Yea, he…”_ _

__“And you, like, swallowed it? Without asking what it was?”_ _

__Bulma stares blankly at her. Could she please stop asking stupid questions? Not like she need a reminder on how stupid, stupid she’s been. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, shrugs, forces a smile and decides that she’s not going to talk about it ever again._ _

__“Yeah.” she deadpans “We should dance.”_ _

__She hasn’t danced in forever._ _

__“We should?”_ _

__Chichi seems so surprised it makes Bulma giggle. She grabs Goku’s hand and leads him to the center of the room, Chichi following close behind._ _

__“We should dance.” She repeats._ _

__She knows she needs to move or she’s going to start thinking about it again. She doesn’t feel comfortable dancing here, surrounded by all the people she’s never made an effort to get to know, being totally aware that they’re not comfortable having her around, either. But she needs to move, her limbs are burning, there’s a tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach and her vision is going blurry, so she closes her eyes and tries to forget where she is, focusing on the music._  
If Bulma were not a woman of science, she would say it’s kind of magical, the way everything just seems to, suddenly, flow in the right direction. The song that comes up is exactly the song she has been dying to hear all night long and it flows through her like a welcomed breeze, allowing her to move with an abandon she has never felt before. Her limbs are feather light and her head spins in all the right ways and her eyes are shut and her head is calm and silent for the first time in a long time.  
She moves like that, loose limbed and closed eyes, completely unaware that her classmates’ looks have changed completely. People are staring at her in awe. She has never been so beautiful to them as she is now, while she dances around with one and another and laughs in a way that makes her eyes shimmer like the sun over the ocean.  
An eternity passes until she’s able to stop and focus her gaze, and when she does there he is, leaning against a wall, watching her. She giggles as she approaches, and stops in front of him in silence, meeting his intense gaze with one of her own._

__“Looks like you’re having fun.” he says._ _

__“I guess I should thank you.” she means to sound serious, but she can’t suppress her smile._ _

__“I don’t know what you mean.”_ _

__He’s smirking at her and she notices that his pupils are blown. Or maybe his eyes are just that dark. Dark as two coal marbles. Dark as an anthracite, darker than black._ _

__“Oh, I think you do.”_ _

__“You’re assuming too much.”_ _

__Bulma notices, suddenly, that she’s standing so close that she can see how his jawline moves when he speaks, how his nostrils expand when he inhales, how his lips part, ever so slightly when he exhales._ _

__“How come I never noticed you before?” she asks suddenly, squinting to be able to see him better in the dim lighting._ _

__“What?”_ _

__She smiles at his arched eyebrow and serious expression. Something in her stomach turns and the feeling is not entirely unpleasant._ _

__“You’re hot.” She says, “I never noticed before.”_ _

__He seems taken aback. Suddenly, he looks away and she can see his shoulders go stiff and his jaw clench ever so slightly._ _

__“Shut up, you’re high.”_ _

__She giggles at his high-pitched tone. Everything about him feels new and exciting and dangerous and fun, but most of all, unknown. Bulma cannot stand the unknown, she has an almost primal urge to know everything, to learn, to understand, and she’s feeling that urge now, pulling at her guts as she stares at the boy before her with eyes shining with excitement._ _

__“Dance with me.” She says, taking a step back and extending her hand._ _

__His eyes focus first on her face, then on her hand, to finally settle on her face again._ _

__“I don’t dance.” He says._ _

__She rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips._ _

__“Oh, come on, what do you do then?”_ _

__He raises an eyebrow and smirks at her in a way that instantly makes her regret even asking._ _

__“You know, I don’t even want to know.”_ _

__He’s almost laughing now, and his eyes are shinning constellations she can’t look away from. Her skin is tingling with the need to move, to dance, to run, she feels like there’s a supernova growing in her belly and she’s going to explode if she keeps still._ _

__“Let’s get out of here, then.”_ _

__His almost laugh dies and the look he throws at her is so full of surprise she can’t help but burst into giggles once more._ _

__“What are you fucking laughing at?”_ _

__“Oh God, you’re something else.” She grabs his hand before she can think about what she’s doing and tugs a little towards her “Come on.” She says, grinning “I’m in the mood for an adventure.”_ _


	2. 2

_Look at me,  
baby you know that I'm no angel  
I know I'm a lot to handle ___

__

__She watches from her place on a corner of the sidewalk as he approaches. From this distance, his silhouette seems kind of scary; not tall, but lithe and firm, all hard muscles and strong shoulders, gliding like a cat’s shadow towards her, barely illuminated by the dim light of the lampposts.  
He sits down next to her, back against the cold, brick wall. Why they ended up sitting on the sidewalk on a dark alley, she doesn’t remember but doesn’t have complaints, eider. Her leg is bouncing up and down, incapable of keeping still, but she doesn’t mind, not right now._ _

__“How did you manage to buy it?” she asks, eyeing him suspiciously as he sets a small plastic bag on the floor and takes out two cans of beer._ _

__“I paid.” He says, shrugging while he opens one and extends it to her._ _

__“That’s not what I meant, asshole. You’re underage.” She says, accepting the can “Why would they sell beer to a minor? Is that even legal?”_ _

__He stares blankly at her and raises an eyebrow in a way she’s beginning to understand he does when he thinks she’s being stupid._ _

__“Are you really asking me that?” He says finally._ _

__She frowns at him and he raises his eyebrows again, shaking his head slightly._ _

__“I sell drugs.” He points out, still staring at her “I don’t know, maybe being legal is not my thing.”_ _

__“So, you didn’t pay.”_ _

__“I have a fake ID, God, and they say you’re a genius.” He mutters, exasperated._ _

__She looks away and takes a tentative sip of her beer, making a grimace at the taste._ _

__“I am a genius.” She whispers._ _

__“You don’t look like one.”_ _

__Bulma turns her body so she’s completely facing him. His profile is sharp and angular, she follows the movement of his Adam’s apple as he swallows.  
“And what should a genius look like? Glasses and a lab coat? I have those too, you know.”_ _

__He glances sideways at her and scoffs._ _

__“Really? I’ll have you know my IQ is the highest of the state, maybe even the country.”_ _

__“Your modesty too.”_ _

__She’s full on raging now. Even in the almost darkness she can see his smirk, she’s fully aware that he’s messing with her and even knowing so she’s unable to stop herself from falling straight into his game._ _

__“There’s nothing wrong with knowing one’s value.” She says, lifting her chin._ _

__“Show me then.” He says suddenly, turning so he’s facing her, too. His eyes are black holes sprinkled with constellations and for a moment her breath catches._ _

__“What?” she croaks._ _

__“What can a genius do?” There it is again, that soft, raspy whisper that carries a challenge she cannot decline._ _

__“I can hot-wire a car.” She says without thinking._ _

__“You cannot.”_ _

__She smiles then, a wicked grin that makes a shiver run down his spine and has him wondering if, maybe, he’s the one assuming too much now. Slowly, she leans in until their noses are almost touching, her hot breath caressing his lips and sending earthquakes through his skin._ _

__“Watch me.” She whispers, lips ever so slightly brushing his._ _

__“I’m watching.” He answers, through the mist of a de-ja-vú._ _

__Bulma stands up and looks around the empty alleyway. There are a few cars parked at the sides of the narrow street, but they’re far enough from the main avenue that it doesn’t seem likely that people are going to show up any time soon. She walks up to the line of cars and starts walking, eyeing them closely. She can feel Vegeta’s eyes on her as she crouches next to the first car of the line and starts undoing one of her shoelaces. Once she has the shoelace out of the boot, she makes a slip knot at the end. Once the knot is secure, she forces it into the gap between the door window frame and the roof of the car, and very slowly starts moving it to lasso the door lock button. It takes her a couple of tries before the knot finally catches on the lock, but when it does, she pulls carefully until she hears the satisfying click.  
She turns to look at him, eyes shimmering with pride._ _

__“You’re kidding.” He says, standing and walking up to her._ _

__“You wish.” She takes a step to the side to give him space to see the open door._ _

__He looks from her to the car and then back at her, seeming momentarily completely taken aback. She throws him a smirk, hands on her hips, and he recovers almost instantly._ _

__“But it’s still not moving.” He says, crossing his arms over his chest. Bulma can’t help but notice how his biceps bulge under the black sweatshirt._ _

__He quirks an eyebrow and she rolls her eyes and ties her hair into a ponytail before kneeling on the floor, half of her body inside the car, under the steering wheel._ _

__“For someone who doesn’t have any friends you could be a litter nicer, you know?” She mutters while she inspects the cables._ _

__“Look who’s talking.”_ _

__She chooses to ignore him and gets out of the car, standing up and walking back to the other side of the road, where her bag is still on the floor, next to the half full cans of beer. She crouches and fumbles with the pockets a bit until she finds what she’s looking for. She slings her bag on her shoulder and returns to the car holding an incredibly small, pink pocket knife._ _

__“What the hell, do you just carry that around?” He asks, looking at her with badly hidden surprise._ _

__“A girl’s got to be prepared.” She shrugs and kneels, accommodating her body under the steering wheel again._ _

__She sees the cables in front of her and something in her brain switches on. Suddenly she’s in a territory she’s familiar with, faced with a challenge she knows. Vegeta leans in to get a better look and instantly notices the change in her demeanor, now her hands move with practiced skill, how her body relaxes and her breathing evens and everything about her is suddenly sure and confident and proud. He sees the way her hair, the strangest shade of blue he’s ever seen, falls over her shoulder and he has to suppress he urge to grab her ponytail just to see how it would feel between his fingers. There’s a small spark and she jerks suddenly, making him take several steps back._ _

__“Got it!” She screams “Just one more click…”_ _

__And whatever she was going to say next is instantly drowned by the sound of the alarm going off. Bulma jumps out of the car, hitting her head on the steering wheel in the process, and takes as many steps back as the can, until she collides with Vegeta, that’s now standing up behind her, staring at the car with horror._ _

__“What the fuck!”_ _

__Bulma turns to shoot him an apologetic smile and shrugs._ _

__“I must have cut the wrong cable.”_ _

__“No shit, genius.”_ _

__Before she can even react, he’s already grabbed her hand and they’re running down the alley, turning on corners and crossing sidewalks, breathing heavily into the cold night air._ _

__“This is so fun!” she screams, grinning._ _

__“You’re insane!”_ _

__He sounds angry, but Bulma’s beginning to realize that he always sounds angry, and anyhow, he’s still holding her hand, so she figures she’ll just enjoy the ride while it lasts._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never hot-wired a car before, so I really don't know if that's how you do it. Google said it was, so I decided to trust the all-knowing. If it's not, please let me know, I'm actually really curious.


End file.
